Clear-Eyed

Matutinal musings are often
The bleakest. Big Data indicates

Moods start their lowest in the morning
And then rise, on average, all day.

This is not the traditional view
From poets or farmer’s almanacs.

Optimism belongs to the dawn,
Not to the owl hours of midnight oil.

Perhaps it’s only that honesty
Lies bare in the low tide of waking—

Melancholia and fantasies
Can both accumulate in the mind,

The longer mind is up and talking
To mind about mind. They’re byproducts.

Mornings after rest enough are clear,
And clarity’s stark when the light’s bleak.